Boots CEO Sebastian James has claimed his exit from the retailer is not related to Walgreens’ decision to shelve plans for a multibillion-pound sale of the UK business.
The announcement of his departure came hot on the heels of Walgreens revealing it had scrapped plans to sell or Boots for a second time last week.
James, who is leaving the business after six years to run ophthalmology company Veonet, told The Times that “any leader of business loves doing disruptive things and floating the business, or indeed selling the business, would have been a great, fun thing to do”.
Despite this, he insisted he was not leaving the cosmetics chain due to the u-turn, claiming conversations between Veonet had begun “months and months ago, long before any call was made” on the IPO or sale.
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Walgreens, which has owned the health and beauty giant since 2014, abandoned plans to offload Boots – a star performer at the business – as it cut its profit outlook last week.
The US health and beauty giant’s chief executive Tim Wentworth, who came on board last October, said he would retain ownership of the UK chain as he attempts to overhaul Walgreens.
He told The Telegraph: “Our review of Boots UK showed that we have attractive options to unlock value in this business.
“While we believe there is significant interest in Boots at the right time, its growth, strategic strength and cashflow remain key contributors to the company. We are committed to continuing to invest in Boots UK and find innovative ways for this business to fulfil its potential.”
James claimed he was “as far from disgruntled as it’s possible to be” by the decision. “I’m absolutely gruntled. This is good for Boots and I think it’s good for me because I get to do my thing,” he said.
This is the second time that Walgreens has abandoned its sale of Boots. In 2022, it shelved plans after suitors failed to meet its asking price, with the US giant claiming at the time that no interested party had made an offer that “adequately reflects the high potential value of Boots”.
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